In addition to premiering the Galaxy Note 8, Samsung on Wednesday said that it's working on its own smartspeaker, which will face off against products like the Apple HomePod, Amazon Echo, and Google Home.

Apple's HomePod.

An announcement could happen "soon," Samsung mobile president D.J. Koh told CNBC. Koh provided no additional details, even whether the device will use Bixby, the voice assistant found on the Galaxy S8 and Note 8.

Samsung has set high ambitions in the smarthome space, aiming to connect not just typical accessories but full-scale appliances like refrigerators. Bixby is expected to be a linchpin, though it will also likely have to interact with competing smarthome accessories.

Amazon's Echo speakers have been a surprise hit and the model for rival products. Apple's HomePod, shipping in December for $349, will take a slightly different tack by focusing more on audio quality. It will also serve as a HomeKit hub, potentially replacing an iPad or Apple TV for people wanting features like remote control.

One limitation could be the need for an iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch during setup. The Echo and Home can be configured using iOS and Android apps.

The fundamental competitive difference is once again rooted in Apple's amazingly still unique business model. Samsung will be competing more intensively with Amazon and Google for space in the Android world. The supposed limitation for HomePod mentioned in the article (that an iPhone, iPad, or iPod is needed during setup) is really a feature, not a bug. The HomePod will exist within the Apple ecosystem, and will function as a HomeKit hub and controller. Unlike the others, HomePod software will be written in concert with the hardware. For Apple users, this means the 'internet of things' will likely become a much bigger deal in the next year, and the experience will be comparatively smooth, simple, and -most importantly for controlling things in your home- secure.

Meanwhile, Samsung will jump into an Android-based marketplace with Google and Amazon, where standards and features across different hardware will be more confusing and less reliable, and -most importantly for controlling things in your home- less secure.

Watch this space (and probably even more over on macrumors) over the next year or two for much whining about this feature or that feature that one of the other devices does that Apple's 'walled garden' hinders. Then there will be the stories about how the Android-based devices are selling all sorts of in-home data to the highest bidder. Let one rip in the privacy of your den and see how long it takes for a "Gas-X" ad to pop up on an Android screen. Then watch this space for the story about a big breach in the 'internet of things' that hits one or all of the others but leaves the things tied together with HomeKit unaffected. Competition, sure, but it's remarkable that Apple still stands alone as the only combined hardware and software producer. It will make a big difference in this emerging technology.

In addition to premiering the Galaxy Note 8, Samsung on Wednesday said that it's working on its own smartspeaker, which will face off against products like the Apple HomePod, Amazon Echo, and Google Home.

From my perspective, this is Amazon's territory now. "Alexa" is used a LOT more than Siri - Siri is not dependable. Amazon got this right with keeping the features simple yet deep. I don't see how Samsung's Bixby will be used in a home with iPads and Kindles. This A.I. -inside-speakers competition doesn't feel like a level playing ground, and it's success will be based on loyal consumers.

In addition to premiering the Galaxy Note 8, Samsung on Wednesday said that it's working on its own smartspeaker, which will face off against products like the Apple HomePod, Amazon Echo, and Google Home.

From my perspective, this is Amazon's territory now. "Alexa" is used a LOT more than Siri - Siri is not dependable. Amazon got this right with keeping the features simple yet deep. I don't see how Samsung's Bixby will be used in a home with iPads and Kindles. This A.I. -inside-speakers competition doesn't feel like a level playing ground, and it's success will be based on loyal consumers.

I will only buy HomePod if it provides new essential features not available on iPhone.

Samsung should. be ashamed of itself. Everything they pump out from TV's, Washers, and electronics in general is essentially junk. Crap. Landfill material.

They will come out with their speaker, it and like everything else they make that requires actual software coding expertise, it will fail miserably. They'll claim it outsold everything and a future lawsuit will show they essentially lied about how well anything they had sold.

The only thing electronics that they have going for them is they foundries and SSD and screen tech. If Apple had that kind of track record, everyone (especially Sog35) would be demanding Cook's head.

Samsung should. be ashamed of itself. Everything they pump out from TV's, Washers, and electronics in general is essentially junk. Crap. Landfill material.

They will come out with their speaker, it and like everything else they make that requires actual software coding expertise, it will fail miserably. They'll claim it outsold everything and a future lawsuit will show they essentially lied about how well anything they had sold.

The only thing electronics that they have going for them is they foundries and SSD and screen tech. If Apple had that kind of track record, everyone (especially Sog35) would be demanding Cook's head.

Pretty hilarious Samsung has been using Dish Network techs to fix their awful washing machines.

Who knows. Samsung did buy Harman so they could have a Harman or JBL speaker for their smartspeaker.

The companies Samsung acquired in the process were JBL, Harman Kardon, Mark Levinson, AKG, Lexicon, Infinity, and Revel. Plus they have access to licenses from Bowers & Wilkins and Bang & Olufsen. Those are big names in the sound industry, with more experience than Apple + Beats. I see no reason for Samsung to release a speaker with better sound quality than the competition, including Apple.

Why aren't we surprised. Copy, Copy, Copy is all they know. And be sure to introduce the product just before the others do their intro or product updates.

I suppose that Apple did the same as Samsung, copying Sonos, Denon Heos, Harman/Kardon and other wireless speakers manufacturers, right? BTW, H/K already had a speaker very similar to the HomePod, the Aura. And now Samsung acquire them. So I suppose that Apple copied a Samsung device.